Arlington
by CreativeSlash
Summary: Instead of being at the BAU, the team is fighting over seas in Afghanistan as part of the U.S. Army. When an attack hits the base, and the team loses one of it's own, Sergeant Morgan wants his best friend buried somewhere special. SongFic.


**It's my first Criminal Minds Fic! :D I took a bit of a break, dealing with other things. But, I got a new laptop and finally have Word, so…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, Spencer or Derek, or Arlington by Trace Adkins.**

When Sergeant Derek Morgan signed up to be in the army, he imagined being overseas in a remote battlezone, shooting every person who came into contact with him. He imagined being in Iraq, Iran, or even Afghanistan.

That's what he signed up for.

Well, he got what he wanted. He's in Afghanistan, and there's obviously a war raging, waiting for him to go out charging and taking out any threats.

Is he doing that?

No.

Instead, he's wasted away to boredom. All there is to do is play his various games on his Playstation, with his best friend and fellow soldier, Spencer Reid. Even beating the poor genius gets tiring at some point, though.

"Hey, Reid?" He called over to the curly-haired genius.

"Yeah, Morg?" He called back, focused on adding enough sugar to make his coffee just the way he liked it.

"Do you want to head over to the dinner hall? It's getting pretty close to dinner, and Hotch and Prentiss should already be there. Who knows, maybe Rossi and Gideon will come out of their rooms for once to join us."

Reid turned around, coffee in hand. "Sure, I could use some time out of here. The beige is awfully similar to a jail it seems," Reid frowned slightly.

Morgan gave a small, amused chuckle and held the door open for the small genius.

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"And then, the entire pyramid just FELL! My three hour card pyramid, destroyed! All thanks to my wonderful roommate, Penelope Garcia! Give her a round of applause!" Specialist Emily Prentiss talked loudly and animatedly to the four other soldiers at her table. To her left, Sergeant First Class Penelope Garcia sat, her body shaking with laughter from Emily's fake frustration over her card mishap. Next to Penelope, sat Sergeant Major Aaron Hotchner, the leader of their batallion, who was currently trying to hold back his obvious enjoyment of the event.

The last two at the table, were Sergeants Spencer Reid and Derek Morgan. They didn't witness the event, but they were obviously getting some entertainment from it.

They all had their reasons for joining the army. Emily Prentiss was pursuing a career in Criminal Justice, but at split second signed up for thearmy. She had stated herself, "I want to be out in the field! Not in an office!"

Penelope Garcia had a strong love and talent for technology. She proved to be an asset to the army as she proved her skillful hacking skills and the army eagerly took her overseas to try and override the enemy's databases.

Spencer Reid, no one knew exactly why he had joined. His past was still unknown, but it is known that he had an abusive father throughtout his childhood. Although, no one figured why he chose the army. The kid has three doctorates, yet he chose the army.

Derek Morgan, his reason was simple. He wanted to take down the enemy. He wanted action. Action he couldn't get back home.

After conversing for about twenty minutes, the dinner was served to soldiers in the dining hall, and out emerged Jason Gideon and David Rossi from their rooms, both bleary eyed.

"Hey! It's Sleeping Beauties!" Prentiss called over to them, grinning wildly. She received two glares, courtesy of the latter.

The rest of dinner stretched on, with pointless chatter and various entertainment. When nine arrived on the clock, the soldiers bade each other goodbye, heading torwards their rooms for the night.

Morgan and Reid both crawled in their beds, preparing for the early morning they knew was to come.

"Night Reid," Morgan called.

"Night Morgan," Reid's quiet voice responded back.

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_BOOM!_

The sound of explosions and screams woke Derek Morgan from his deep sleep. It took him a minute to try and figure what was happening, when he finally had to narrow it down to an attack.

When he reached the hallway, he was met with chaos. He managed to get a bypassing soldier to explain what was happening.

"Mortar attacks. Have about three on them. From what I heard, they also have rifles on them too."

The gunshot that had just sounded in their room, sounded as if it were in their own room. Figuring Reid was already awake, who wouldn't be with all the noise, Morgan rushed out of the room to join the other guys who were fighting the attacks. The mortars were strong, but luckily they were fought off and the handlers were captured.

Hotch and Prentiss caught up with Morgan as he headed back to his room, concern shining in their eyes.

"You alright, Morgan?" Hotch asked him, scanning him for any injuries that he may have received. Morgan shook his head at his superior.

"I'm fine Hotch. Are you hurt? Prentiss?" He asked his two friends, wondering had they obtained any injuries either.

"Do you really think if I were hurt, I'd be this quiet?" Prentiss asked, sporting her usual grin. It was true, however, that she would be yelling for someone to help her even if it was a splinter. Prentiss was not taken down quietly.

Morgan gave her a small smirk as he headed back to his room. However, he was stopped by Hotch once again.

"Where's Reid?" He asked, worry etched in his features. Truth be told, Morgan hadn't seen Reid. He figured he was out of the room before him, and probably had already gone back.

"I haven't seen him. I think he got out of the room before I woke up. You know how light of a sleeper Reid is, Hotch. He couldn't have slept through it. He probably already headed back to our room and probably is making himself a cup of coffee right about now."

Hotch didn't look fully convinced, but he went back to his room, telling Morgan to tell Reid to report to him next time before he leaves.

As Morgan opened the door to his room, he saw a familar lump in Reid's bed, and immediately felt relief flood through him at the sight of his best friend.

He figured nothing had happened to him, but even now, he couldn't get that feeling out of his stomach that something was wrong.

He walked over to Reid's side, shaking him slightly. When Reid didn't stir, he shook him harder.

"Come on, Reid. Wake up, pretty boy," He spoke to the unresponding soldier.

He walked over to the other side of the bed, when something shiny caught his eye on the floor. Lying there, a bullet was covered in a familar red color.

Morgan, confused and fearful, finally got to look at Reid.

And the blood surrounding his head.

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_I never thought that this is where I'd settle down,_

_I thought I'd die an old man back in my hometown,_

_They gave me this plot of land, me and some other men,_

_for a job well done._

With the death of Sergeant Reid casting a heavy cloud over the base, no one did much talking anymore. The only thoughts that ran through their heads were the concerns had it been them.

Sergeant Morgan was permitted to go home and attend the funeral, stating emotional trauma as his reason of departure.

_There's a big white house sits on a hill just up the road,_

_The man inside he cried the day they brought me home,_

_They folded up a flag, and told my mom and dad, 'We're proud of your son'_

The funeral took place in Arlington Cemetary, and was attended by numerous people from surrounding states. Sergeant Morgan attended the funeral, dressed fully in his dress blues. He was the one who organized the funeral, as he wanted to bury his best friend in a place where he would not be outcasted.

Somewhere he would fit in at.

_And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,_

_I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,_

_I'm thankful for those thankful for the things I've done,_

_I can rest in peace, I'm one of the chosen ones,_

_I made it to Arlington._

The funeral was hosted by a general of the army, who spoke of all the great things Reid has done for the army. His intelligence had given them a tip off on a hide out for enemy territory. How he managed to lift the spirits of the base with his personality and magic tricks. How he had been there for all of them when their home lives weren't working out so well.

_I remember daddy brought me here when I was eight,_

_We searched all day to find out where my granddad lay,_

_And when we finally found that cross,_

_He said, 'Son this is what it cost, to keep us free'._

_Now here I am a thousand stones away from him,_

_He recognized me on the first day I came in,_

_And it gave me a chill, when he clicked his heels, and saluted me._

When the general of the army finished speaking, Sergeant Morgan was called up to make a speech about Reid. Morgan knew that tears were to be shed, but at this point, he didn't care. He wanted to cry. He wanted to cry for his best friend.

_And I'm proud to be on this peaceful piece of property,_

_I'm on sacred ground and I'm in the best of company,_

_And I'm thankful for those thankful for the things I've done,_

_I can rest in peace, I'm one of the chosen ones,_

_I made it to Arlington._

"Ive known Sergeant Spencer Reid since Boot Camp," Morgan started out quietly. "He was the scrawny, curly haired kid that looked like a toothpick. He could barely do pull ups, let alone sit ups. He was the soldier that no one thought he could make it. But he did. He made it, and was, and still is, one of the best soldiers that ever stepped foot on this earth.

Morgan took a breath, already feeling tears in his eyes.

"But," He continued. "Spencer was more than that. He was a soldier. He was a genius. He was a nice guy. But most of all," Morgan sighed, his tears falling over the edge.

"He was my best friend," He whispered, the tears falling gently.

**Was it good? I'm not very talented in the songfic section, but I heard this song and I had the idea..**

**Oh, and if you're one of those people who are going to flame about the army and how stupid it is, then you can just screw off. My dad's in the army and just got home in November from his second tour. Without him or anyone else in the army, you wouldn't even be here. **

**REVIEW PLEASE! :D**


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